A Modern Take On A Traditional Technique

Author: Rebecca Medina

Hello there, I'm Rebecca! I love creating beautiful things from nothing, which is why I love crocheting. I especially love the tapestry method.. but as I've been picking it up, I've noticed that it's completely underrated! I made this site to spread the word about the greatness of tapestry crochet. I hope that my passion becomes yours and that you create something beautiful today :)

This is the second bargello-inspired pattern I’ve made, and it won’t be the last. Bargello is a type of needlework that is believed to date back to the 17th century, but made a comeback in the mid 20th century. To me, it’s reminiscent of the 70’s, but it’s easily made modern with the right shapes and color schemes. What I love about it is how easily a bargello design can be translated into a tapestry crochet pattern. I hope you all are loving these patterns as much as I am, because I’m going to keep making them 🙂

**This pattern uses a modified single crochet stitch, not a regular SC. Click here to find out how it’s done. It’s easy, I promise!**

This is a large pattern that takes a lot of stitches to complete. Use a light yarn, unless you’re planning on making a very large project.

If you’re looking for a challenge, you’ve come to the right place. This pattern is really big and really colorful and I really want to make it but I know I don’t have enough yarn right now, so will someone please make it for me so I can look at it and admire it and appreciate the versatility of tapestry crochet even more? Please..?

Yes, this pattern is very large, so plan on using a very light yarn (unless you’re looking for a very large pattern because you want to make a very large project, of course..) Maybe this pattern would work well for flat tapestry? I haven’t tried it, so I can’t say.. but once again, maybe someone wants to try for me? 😀

When doing flat tapestry crochet, normally you would have two options when it comes to moving from round to round: turn your work like you normally would when crocheting, or turn the hook and work with your left hand from left to right. Neither of these options is ideal. Turning your work creates a messier look, and using your left hand can be very difficult to learn. Luckily, I’ve discovered a third option 🙂

This third option allows you the comfort of using only your right hand (or your dominant hand), while achieving the same look as you’d get with your left hand. Without further ado, your video..

(Actually, just a little further ado.. I want to apologize in advance for the occasional blurriness of the video. For some reason, my video was just refusing to cooperate. For best detail, please make sure you’re watching this video in 1080p. You can change the quality setting by clicking the little wheel symbol in the bottom right-hand corner.) Okay, now without further ado…

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below, or you can message me directly on the All Tapestry Crochet Facebook page. Honestly, don’t hesitate 🙂 I love to help!

This pattern bears a slight resemblance to the Differing Diamonds pattern, but it’s quite a bit easier, smaller and it requires only 3 colors instead of 4. I know a lot of people have told me the Differing Diamonds pattern is beautiful, but they feel like they wouldn’t be able to successfully do a pattern like that. I want to remind you all, you’re capable of anything! You are capable of doing the Differing Diamonds pattern! But if you are just not ready to jump into a pattern like that, this is a much more inviting place to start 🙂

This tapestry crochet base is great if you’re in a hurry to make a base, but don’t want to compromise on the design. With only two colors and relatively few color changes, you’ll get through it in no time.

Part 1

Part 2

It takes 23 rounds to complete this snowflake base, bringing you to a total of 184 stitches at the end of the last round. If you’re interested, you can find the exact yarn colors I used below. I found mine at a thrift store for only $1 a piece! Ugh.. I just wish I had bought them all. This base used up maybe a little less than half of each skein, and I only bought 1 skein of each color, so I’d definitely have to add at least one other color to the mix to be able to complete a project. I so wish I could go back and buy that entire bin of yarn….

Anyway guys, if you have any questions/comments/etc., please feel free to leave them in the comment section below. You could also message me directly on the All Tapestry Crochet Facebook page, if you prefer 🙂 I wish you all very happy crocheting!

The matchstick pattern could be classified as an easy pattern for a few reasons: simple repeating pattern, two colors, straight lines only. But just because it’s easy does not mean it’ll look boring. That’s tapestry crochet for you! Don’t you just love it?

**8/24/2016 UPDATE – The previous version of this pattern had a few mistakes on it. I’ve replaced it with the corrected version above. I sincerely apologize to anyone who may have started it but couldn’t finish because of the mistakes.**

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below, or you can message me directly on the All Tapestry Crochet Facebook Page. Happy Crocheting!

Before you watch the video, I want to talk about some things I didn’t mention in the video. I’ve had a few people ask me about my choice of needle size. I generally choose a smaller hook than what is typically recommended for the yarn weight. The reason I do this is to make sure that the stitches are nice and tight so the carried yarn doesn’t show through.

For example, if you look up “yarn weight chart,” you should find charts that explain what each weight is generally used for, and recommended hook sizes. Both of the projects that I’m working on right now are made of worsted weight yarn. For worsted weight yarn, it’s recommended that you should use at least a size I-9 hook (5.5 mm) But in the video below, I’m using a size G-6 hook, which is 4 mm.

What I would recommend when choosing a hook size is to go a couple sizes under what is recommended, try it out and see if it’s both comfortable and if it hides the carried yarn. If you have those two things, I would say you’re good to go. (Of course, hook size will affect the overall size of your work, so keep that in mind, too.)

With all that in mind, go ahead and check out the video. I hope it’s helpful for you and that it brings you at least one step closer to comfortable crocheting.

This pattern is dedicated to my second home; the state of Arizona. I love looking out my back yard and seeing one of these saguaros, birds perched on the spikey limbs pecking at the white flowers. Did you know it takes a saguaro cacti take 8 years to grow just about an inch and a half? And it takes about 70 years for a saguaro to grow it’s first arm. And they can get to be really tall, like 50 feet tall. Can you tell I really admire the saguaro cactus? Anyway! Here’s a pattern for you all 🙂

When you have to rely on pre-made patterns, the number of tapestry crochet patterns available to you are limited. But when you learn to make your own, a world of possibilities opens up. In this two-part tutorial, I go over the basics of how to use a program called Crochet Charts to make your very own tapestry crochet patterns. Please note that these tutorials are focused primarily on how to use the software. (Find the software at http://www.stitchworkssoftware.com/downloads)

Part 1:

Part 2:

After you finish the base/bottom of a bag, you may find yourself feeling stuck, as there’s very little information on tapestry crochet in general and even less on the steps required to make a bag. In the video tutorial below, I explain my method of transitioning from the base to the body.

I use this method because it’s the method I used in making bags before I started doing tapestry crochet. However, I’m really curious to know what you guys do to move from the base to the body. Let me know your method in the comments section below! And if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask either in the comment section below or by messaging me on the All Tapestry Crochet Facebook page. Happy Crocheting!

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